The beginning of it all
by OrchidJames
Summary: The night of October 31st 1981 didn't go as Voldemort planned. Now, the Dark Lord is still out there, killing and gaining power, while James and Lily Potter have only one idea in mind: to protect Harry at all cost. However, when an old enemy is discovered, the cards are redistributed, but in whose favor? AU. Jily. Wolfstar
1. The beginning of it all

**AU. Jily. Wolfstar.**

 **If somebody wants to be my beta DM me, thanks. I'm a French native speaker so you will find tons of mistakes.**

 **HP's not mine but some of the spells are.**

 **Also, the title is temporary, if anyone has any idea feel free to tell me.**

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 **Chapter 1:** The beginning of it all

On the night of Halloween, Godric's Hollow was unusually noisy. The quaint little village vibrated with children's laughter and parent's chatter as they all made their way from cottage to cottage in order to accumulate toffees and other sweets in each of their bags.

However, there was one family who did not participate in the festivities.

It was a quite evening that had quickly crept upon the tall bespectacled man and his family. Once upon a time, James Potter may have been found outside, laughing, eating sweets and pranking the other families with his three friends, but nowadays, the stress and constant tension of the wizarding war had left him with a fondness for simple nights spent cuddling his son and wife.

Sited with a cup of tea and a book on his lap on the old settee in their cottage, James watched as his son laughed at the tickles his mother pressed upon his soft tummy.

"What a beautiful smile you have my Harry! Yes, you do!" Lily gushed, her lips stretched into a beautiful smile.

He had missed this sight. These past few months, there was not much joy in Lily's eyes. Weariness had quickly settled upon them after the first few weeks of hiding. Lily missed the outside, the fresh air, the flowers… She even missed the early Saturday mornings spent with her mother at the grocery's store. She may have grumbled at being woken up early but Merlin how she missed it! Every day she would remind herself that it was for her son, _it was for Harry_. This was the only thing keeping her going. It was for her son and his safety. If she had to be copped up until the end of her life then so be it. Harry was her first priority, feeling locked up or stifled was not that important as long as Harry was safe and happy.

The war and the threat upon their life was like the sword of Damocles. They felt it looming over their heads, the constant feeling that something bad was going to happen, that a letter announcing the death of their friends would reach them or that Voldemort would get them.

Nowadays, the married couple did not sleep much. Most nights, their eyes were wide open, their arms around each other, each thinking of what horrible things were going to happen the next day. In the end, it was Harry who could sometimes give them a sense of normalcy, or much better, a feeling of happiness that had become more foreign since Marlene McKinnon and her family's death. She had been the first of their friends to fall, quickly followed by the beloved Fabian and Gideon Prewett. They had fought and fell like heroes and would not be forgotten. Not by James anyway.

"Ow, Harry, that's mummy's hair!" Lily berated her young son, taking his little hand inside hers and prying it open. Lily's beautiful voice got James out of his thought. He watched as she took Harry's other hand to prevent him from going at her hair again. She bent down and kissed his tummy, making a sweet laugh come out of her son.

Harry was the only one who could elicit a smile or a laugh from either one of his parents. He was such a joyous and beautiful child. His green eyes always alight with wonder and laughter. When he had learned of Lily's pregnancy James had been over the moon but he couldn't help feeling like, maybe, bringing a child into a world were a war was raging was a bit foolish and risky. But as Lily had said it was a risk worth taking, it was _their_ child after all. James had nodded. He had never regretted that decision, not even with this threat upon their family.

A soft vibration suddenly came from the kitchen, making the two adults look toward it. James stood up, stretching and went toward the other room.

"Isn't it late for Sirius to call?" Lily asked, looking at her retreating husband's back. She saw James shrug and smiled softly.

"He misses us." Her husband called, making the smile on Lily's lips stretch.

"I'm pretty sure uncle Padfoot misses _you_ , my darling." She told Harry, while scrunching her nose, waving his pudgy little hands around.

"Pafoo'!" Harry exclaimed, smiling at his mother who beamed with pride.

"Yes, uncle Padfoot misses you, Harry." She kissed his hand. "But you know what, we'll see him soon." She finished, her smile slowly fading. Was she lying to her baby?

"Calm down already! What do you mean Peter isn't home?" She heard her husband's raised voice.

Frowning, she took Harry in her arms and made her way toward their kitchen where James was sitting at the table, brows furrowed. He looked up when Lily came in and shared a worried glance with her.

"What's happening?" Lily asked, kissing Harry's head. Her little boy let out a small yawn, nestling against his mother shoulder.

"Sirius went 'round Pete's place and he's not there." James quickly explained to her before looking back at the mirror which showed Sirius's worried face.

"Well, maybe he went out?" His wife proposed, siting down on the chair next to her husband.

"Yeah…" James nodded. "Listen Sirius, I'm pretty sure it's nothing, let's…"

"You don't understand, there's something fishy…" Sirius interrupted him. "My gut is telling me there's something wrong." He screeched, trying to convey his desperation.

"Didn't know you were a seer!" James tried to alleviate the tension he felt seeping from his friend.

"James!" Sirius barked, pulling a hand through his hair. "I just…" He trailed, looking around again.

"Is there any sign of a struggle?" James proposed, sighing. Lily frowned.

"No… no." Sirius shook his head. "There's nothing."

"Maybe he went to see his mum?" Lily said, shrugging slightly. "She's been quite ill these past few months."

James nodded his ascent. "Yeah… Look, Sirius, maybe you should just wait for him there and you'll see. He'll come back with some food or something…."

Sirius sighed unsatisfied but nodded nonetheless before biding goodnight to James and Lily. Once the call had ended, James pocketed the mirror before passing a hand through his hair.

"I hope Peter's alright." Lily said, Sirius 's worried face still etched in her mind. "Sirius wouldn't worry for nothing."

"He's been quite paranoid these past few weeks." James whispered, thinking of the numerous theories his best friend had shared with him concerning the traitor in the order. "But don't worry, I'm sure Pete's alright." James smiled softly standing up before bending down to kiss her head. He breathed in her flowery scent, his smile widening. He still had trouble believing she wanted to be with him, that she loved him, and that together they had made the most precious little boy.

"I hope so… Well, it's quite late, I'll just go and put Harry in bed while you finish tiding your cup of tea." She withdrew from him, a small smile on her lips.

"I'll be upstairs to say goodnight in a minute." James nodded, kissing Harry's head. He helped his wife to stand up, stealing a small kiss from her.

Before either of them could walk, a strident alarm suddenly went off. Their blood ran cold and they froze for a moment.

"He's here, isn't he?" Lily finally whispered, eyes wide with alarm, her arms tightening up around her son.

James nodded, his eyes never leaving the entrance of their home while his brain was in overdrive trying to find a way out. _Harry and Lily_ , his brain screamed, _get them to safety_. "Go, I'll hold him off. Go!" He said to his wife, taking her by the shoulder when he saw that she would not budge.

Lily's eyes were trained on a window where she could see a human form walking up their driveway. "James…" She mentioned toward it, her husband walked toward the window and swallowed. "Go Lily please, I'll hold him off." He reiterated, fear starting to grip his heart.

Turning around, he quickly went up to her, kissing her lips. "I love you." He kissed Harry's hair and pushed his wife toward the staircase. "The both of you."

"Your wand James." She quickly pointed out, not making a move to go up the stairs.

Listening to his wife, James turned around quickly and went to pick up his wand which was on the coffee table, near his forgotten book and teacup. With a start, he stopped there. There was a small protection ward a few feet before their doorway which would stop _him_ for a few minutes. He just had to _think_.

Seeing his wife finally climb upstairs, an idea emerged in his mind. "Lily, wait!"

"What?" She asked, startled from her thoughts. She was trying to find a way out or at the very least something to protect her Harry.

"Get back here quick." James quickly said before turning around to look at the living room. " _Avifors_ " He pointed his wand at the bookshelves which quickly turned into a flock of birds.

"What are you _doing_?" Lily's eyes were wide, her grip on Harry as tight as possible.

"Buying us time." James answered, without looking from the numerous transfiguration he was doing around their living room.

" _James_ ! He's close and it's not with birds that we'll stop him!" Lily cried, terrified.

"Don't you remember the ward we put after we came here?" He said, not picking up on her barb.

Anger quickly made way to worry and Lily glanced out of the window. "Yes but it won't hold against him."

"Well, you were good at charms and rune, right? Do something to stop him from coming in. We need more time to think." He sharply asked, making a note to apologize for his tone later. They were attacked, there was no time for tact.

Feeling terrified but determined Lily nodded, trying to think of a charm or rune which could help them. This was suicide, but she would do anything for her son, even standing in front of this monster. "I don't have my wand James." She muttered, trying to remember a protective charm she had seen in one of her charms book.

With a quick accio from her husband, her precious willow wand came into her hand. " _Protego totalum_ " She whispered, walking in front of the doorway, Harry wide awake in her arms. The tension in the room had woken him but the child was quiet, his eyes looking around their living room with wonder.

" _Lioflor_. _Draconifor_." James quickly changed the furniture in their homes into animals.

"I don't understand how having a small zoo will help us, James!" Lily screamed again at James, watching some of the animals gather in front of the doorway while two lions waited in the living room.

"James…" She started before relenting. He was not listening to her. Suddenly Lily's eyes widened. " _Protego Maxima. Fianto Duri. Repello Inimicum_." She quickly casted, her wand pointed toward the ceiling. A bluish white light appeared from her wand creating a dome around them. "It won't last James but it'll do for a few minutes while you explain what you're doing."

Her husband nodded, conjuring two more lions from their couch and table. "The animals will attack him first, that may surprise him and give us more time… _Effingo hominum_." He pointed his wand at a lamp which quickly changed into a frozen Lily.

His wife gasped, watching her double. "How did you do that?" She breathed. She knew James excelled in transfiguration, but human transfiguration was supposed to be hard and awfully complicated.

" _Effingo hominum_." James casted again. This time it was a copy of her husband which appeared. " _Enervate_." The statue came alive. "Fight." James told him. The statue nodded and went to stand next to the entrance of the living room, just behind the army of animals.

"So, how do we get out of here?" James asked after he had awoken the Lily statue who had taken position in the middle of the living room, wands trained toward the door.

Lily did not answer him, tightening her hold on Harry. "I don't know… Brooms?"

"With Harry, it'll be hard. Do you think you can apparate with him?" He asked, glancing at the door.

"He's too young, James." She jumped, hearing one of Voldemort's spell collide with the ward she had casted not to long ago.

"It may be our only chance."

"What if he's splinched?!" She screeched, hearing another spell colliding with her ward. _It won't be long_ , she thought.

"It's a risk we have to take! He'll destroy the animals quickly, it won't give us much time." James sighed, dragging a hand through his hair.

"What about that blood ward we read about?"

"No!" He firmly stated, knowing full well that one of them had to die for it to work.

Suddenly an explosion indicated that Voldemort had finally threw down Lily's protection charm.

"House elf!" Lily suddenly screamed while James took her hand and ran toward the kitchen. Their front door exploded while James closed the door of the kitchen. He only had the time to see some of his animals being blown before the door had shut.

"Miky!" James yelled while Lily hurriedly threw a " _Protego totalum_ " at the door. They heard Voldemort taunting their doubles thinking that they were truly his enemy. A harsh groan told them he had discovered the deception while a soft pop made James turn around.

"Quick take Lily and Harry and go!" He said before Miky could talk. With a nod, the house elf took Lily's hand who had just the time to hear the kitchen's door explode. James tried to apparate away, finding out quickly that he could not.

"That was quite the deception." Voldemort said, making James look at him. "A powerful bout of magic… You could do great things if you finally accepted my generous offer."

James groaned. "Never, I don't associate with filthy snakes."

"And the wards." Voldemort continued without taking heed of James comment. "Powerful, very powerful…"

"The work of my amazing _muggleborn_ wife." James smirked.

Laughing softly, Voldemort looked around. "And where is she, your wife?"

"Where you'll never find her!" James snarled, moving slightly to his left.

Voldemort laughed. "And the child? There's nowhere to go Potter. You'll all die."

"In your dreams. _EXPELLIARMUS_!" James screamed, aiming at Voldemort.

Voldemort deflated his curse with startling ease. " _Confringo_."

James kneeled down, the curse barely missing his head. It struck the cupboard behind him sending wood everywhere, a few pieces coming in contact with James's back and neck, leaving small gashes there. " _Stupefy_." He yelled in return, his hex being deflated quickly yet again.

" _Crucio_." Voldemort smiled, his hex easily coming into contact with its target.

A sudden searing pain hit James. He felt himself wither on the ground, his body contorting. Voldemort lifted the curse quite quickly, asking again where the child, _his Harry_ , was. Lifting his head to tell him to fuck off, James saw Miky waving at him from behind a chair.

"Ah James, such a sad end for a pure line such as the Potter." Voldemort said, coming toward him. "Once I'm finished with you, I will go upstairs and the disgrace you brought into your noble house will be gone. Your ancestors will surely approve." Voldemort smiled cruelly, lifting his wand.

" _Stupefy_." James yelled.

Deflating the curse again, Voldemort raised his wand once more but was cut by James who yelled " _Avis_ ". A flock of bird came out of his wand, flying madly toward the dark lord who tried to sidestep them leaving a clear path toward the house elf. Taking his chance, James stood up quickly and ran toward Miky. Another crucio stopped him in his run making him fall down. Seeing that his master was not far away, Miky quickly made his way to him, taking his master's hand in his. The last thing James saw was a green blinding light heading right toward them before he was taken to his wife and son.

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 **Let me know if I should continue this story. I was thinking of a Jily and wolfstar AU of the first war though I think that this story can be read as a one shot too.**

 **xx**


	2. Potter Manor

**Thank you for the kind reviews on the first chapter.**

 **Here is the second chapter, I hope that it still will make you want to read the rest.**

 **((I'm still looking for a beta))**

 **Let me know what you think.**

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 **Chapter 2:** Potter Manor

The moment James and Miky appeared, Lily jumped into her husband's arms, squeezing him so hard he was sure he had felt some bones shatter. "Oh, James!" She cried, relieved. "You're alright?! Are you hurt? Oh Merlin!" She breathed, tears shining in her eyes. She took his head in her hands and kissed him soundly on the lips. "Please tell me you're not hurt."

"I'm good, don't worry." He breathed, kissing her again before taking her back in is arms for a longer hug. He breathed in her scent, swallowing the lump that had been lodged in his throat since the alarm went on. "You and Harry?"

"We're not hurt." She said taking a step back and mentioning to Harry who was sitting in a transfigured cot, wide awake. Sending a watery smile to her husband, she went to sit down on the uncomfortable brown leather couch, her arm perched on the side of the cot, reaching to touch Harry's cheek softly. "He's not sleepy anymore." She whispered while Harry grabbed her hand in his, smiling at his mother.

James said nothing. He simply looked at his wife and son, thanking Merlin for his family's safety and health.

"What happened?" Lily asked anxiously, pulling her hand away from her son.

James shrugged, his eyes trained on Harry. "We fight and Miky came to get me." He turned toward the house elf. "Thank you for everything, we owe you our life." He nodded, swallowing.

"Miky help master." The elf simply answered before popping out of sight.

James turned back toward his son, Harry's eyes were trained on him. It was as if he had realized what had happened a few minutes ago, as if he had felt the danger they had been in.

"What do we do now? Is it safe here?" Lily changed subject, sensing that James didn't want to go further into his explanation.

It was only after her question that James finally looked around and found himself in front of the familiar cream walls of his family manor's living room. He hadn't been here since his parent's death. The silence made the absence of his parents more tangent and, even though he tried many times, he didn't have the strength to step inside his childhood home… Well, not until tonight anyway.

It held too many memories: him and Sirius flying in the large garden, his parents sitting down for tea in this very living room and chatting animatedly, his room- gold, red and messy- where he used to spend never ending afternoons with Sirius, Remus and Peter…

"James." Lily said, softly.

Her husband looked at her, blinking. "The wards on the manor are strong but… I don't know if it will hold him off…." He replied tiredly, kneeling on the floor in front of her. He put his head in her lap, trying to shake off the remnant of their encounter.

"How did he find us? I mean... Peter… Oh merlin, do you think he's hurt?" Lily asked, alarmed.

"I don't know…" James whispered, eyes closed.

"Maybe Sirius would know." Lily supplied, threading her fingers through her husband's hair. "The mirror, James." She suggested when her husband did not move.

James nodded. He had forgotten he had the mirror. Taking it out of his pocket, he quickly said his best friend's name. Sirius Black's head appeared in front of him, tension still marring his feature.

"What is it Prongs?" He asked, wind blowing his soft black hair.

"Where are you?" James simply asked, putting his head back on Lily's lap.

"I'm on my way to Remus's house, I've waited and Peter didn't come home so maybe he went to Rem?" He said, unconvinced. "I know, I know, slim chance but…" He shrugged.

"Sirius, he attacked us." James said in a voice which lacked it's usual liveliness.

James saw his best friend nearly losing control of his motorcycle.

"Who? Peter?" Sirius asked eyes wide.

"No! _Him_. Voldemort."

"Merlin! Are you hurt? Where are you?" Sirius cried.

"Maybe you should park somewhere." Lily interjected before James could speak. "Talking while driving is dangerous." She added while James muttered that their were unharmed.

"Yeah, yeah." Sirius shrugged her off. "Where are you?"

"At my parent's." James supplied before Lily could start ranting at their friend's lack of carefulness. "Get Remus and come before we close the floo... I don't know if we'll stay here."

"If it's like Grimmauld then the wards are strong. Don't worry." Sirius muttered.

"Just be careful, Sirius."

The dog animagus nodded. "We'll be there quickly, James."

James watched as the mirror stopped showing his best friend's face, reflecting instead his own weary one.

"Do you know what type of wards are on the manor?" Lily asked softly.

James sighed, shaking his head.

"There's a library here right? Maybe we could find books on protective wards... There must be some useful spells we could cast." Lily supplied.

"Maybe but they must have already been used." James replied, still tensed.

"You never know." Lily smiled brushing up James's hair from his forehead.

"Now?" James asked, looking up at Harry who was still silent and looking at his parents. James smiled slowly while his son answered him with a smile of his own which quickly turned into a childish giggle.

"If we want to stay here tonight we need to cast something, even if it was already done." Lily answered, looking at Harry who was now blowing spit bubble. James understood her. They would not be able to calm their racing hearts until they knew that they were safe at least for tonight.

"You remember the way?"

Lily nodded, kissing James. Her lips lingered on his, the contact supplying her with the reassurance that he was alive, that they were both alive… for now.

Standing up, she managed a small smile for her husband. She kissed her son on the head before marching toward the large staircase leading her to the second floor where the ancient library waited for her at the end of a huge corridor adorned with portraits of the late Potters.

With a sigh James looked again at Harry. His little boy was now standing up in his cot, his wide green eyes looking at his father, begging him to come and take him in his arms.

"Come on mate." James said, taking him in his arms "Let's wait for uncle Padfoot and uncle moony." He kissed the top of his head, before sitting down on the couch, Harry's front resting on his. Lifting his little head up, Harry looked at his father, a wide smile on his face.

"Unc' Pafoo?"

"Yeah." James smiled at his son's love of Sirius. "Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony."

Harry giggled putting a hand to his father's cheek. "Dada."

"Yes Harry?" James asked, smiling down at his son.

"Doggy?"

James laughed. "We'll see with uncle Padfoot when he gets there." He smiled, ruffling his son's hair. Harry put a hand in his mouth, still looking at his father.

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The sound coming from the fireplace in the dining room made James stand up, wand in hand. He softly padded to the room, Harry still held tight in his hand.

"Oy, you could have moved out of the way." He heard Sirius mutter.

"Sorry." Came the soft voice of Remus.

James entered the dining room, looking at his friends. They were both on the floor in a giant pile of legs and arms.

"Why are you on the floor?" James asked while Harry giggled, taking his spit covered hand out of his mouth. His friends stopped and looked at him before trying to detangle their intertwined legs.

"Pafoo'!"

"Hello Pronglet." Sirius waved at Harry while Remus finally got up.

"I got caught up in memories." The slightly smaller man replied James's earlier question. "It's been a while since I've been here." He shrugged.

"So have I." James said, trying not to drop Harry who was trying to wiggle out of his arms to get to Sirius. "Did Sirius tell you…" James started.

Remus nodded.

"Let's go in the living room then." James gave Harry to Sirius, watching as his best friend kissed his son before babbling some nonsense. "You do realise he can understand English, right?" James asked, sceptically.

Sirius squeezed Harry, looking suspiciously at James. "Look Harry, your dad's jealous because of our secret language." He fake-whispered to his godson.

James only rolled his eyes, a small smile on his lips. "Come on." He told them, making his way to one of the armchairs.

"Do you think Peter is ok?" Remus was the one to break the uneasy silence that had settled after all of them had taken their place around the small coffee table.

"Oh please, it's obvious that he's the traitor" Sirius replied viciously, tightening his hold on Harry. "Who would have given all these information that only _we_ knew? He was your secret keeper!" he said turning toward James who seemed to have grown paler than when his friends had first seen him.

"He was… and he can only divulge everything willingly." James swallowed, falling back in the armchair, his eyes closed.

"What if he's dead?" Remus asked, taking Harry's proffered hand in his. "What a small hand you have Harry." He said before kissing it while the little boy giggled.

"Then all those who knew of James and Lily's hiding place become secret keepers." Sirius explained to him, jaw clenched.

"Maybe he wrote it on a piece of paper and he lost it… He's clumsy and..."Remus straightened slightly, eyes going from Sirius to James.

"Why can't you just accept the fact that that rat is the traitor!" Sirius asked viciously.

Remus swallowed "… It's Peter…" He whispered, turning his head away from his friends. Peter, small and inoffensive Peter, how could he have done this? Sure, he wasn't the brightest but he was good at potion and he used to willingly sit next to Remus during Potion class because he knew that the werewolf was a disaster in that class. He was the one who would bring him Honeydukes chocolate the day after the full moon, the one who never bothered him for his love of chocolate and old dusty books. He was Peter and he was his friend. He was Peter and he was a Marauder.

Sirius's sweet voice made Remus snap out of his thoughts, blinking the few tears that had gathered in his eyes.

"Yes, and you're you and yet we suspected you! I'm pretty sure James suspected me too at one point." Sirius sighed before turning to James who had opened his eyes to look at his two friends.

"No." He whispered, shaking his head. He stood up to take Harry from Sirius before sitting back down where he had been. "Not you, not Remus and not Peter." He breathed, his face expressionless if not for his eyes which were filled with a sadness none of his friends had ever seen before. He kissed Harry's head while his son tried to get comfortable in his father's arms. "But I should have….I should have in order to protect my family." He finished pulling a hand through his hair. "I should have… I will now." He looked down at Harry who was letting out a small yawn. "You had quite an evening love." He whispered, shifting his arms in order to hold Harry more securely.

"You think we could betray you." Sirius asked, his voice showing his disbelief.

"I don't know… I don't want… I can't risk my son's life again, Sirius." James said earnestly.

Sirius would have felt offended if not for the look in his friend's eyes. Hollow, haunted, his eyes were not the hazel ones he was used to.

"Do you want us to make an oath?" Sirius suddenly asked, standing up while James frowned.

"If it could put you at ease then let's do it." Remus nodded, standing up to be next to Sirius.

"Would you?" James asked, unsure.

"We would." Remus said, a slow smile on his face.

"You're not going to." Lily who had just come into the room said. She was glaring at James for even considering it.

"Why? Why shouldn't they?" Her husband stood up and went to put a sleeping Harry in his cot. He muttered a silencing charm around it before turning to face his wife's rising temper.

"Because they're our _friends_!" Lily exclaimed.

" _Peter_ was our friend too!" James screamed, seeming to break. "He was and he betrayed us willingly! He _BETRAYED_ us, Lily! What tells me that you and Harry are safe with them?" he asked mentioning to his two friends, tears filling his eyes.

"James." Lily whispered, coming to stand in front of him. She took his face in her hands, caressing his cheek softly. "Nothing is going to happen to us now."

"You can't promise that."

"I can't, that's true, but I know that Rem and Sirius would not do anything against us. They're your _brothers_." She smiled, a few tears coming out of her eyes. It killed her to see James, _her_ James, like this. He was the glue of the Marauders, the one who trusted them with his life. For his faith to be broken like this… Lily closed her eyes, sighing. Oh, how she wanted to rip Peter to shreds right now!

"Lily, let us do this, please." Remus broke their moment. "I think we all need it." Remus said, his eyes going from Lily to Sirius. The Black heir quickly understood the double meaning of what Remus had said. His eyes softened and he mouthed 'I'm sorry'. Remus shrugged. "Sirius would you be the bonder?"

Sirius nodded while Remus kneeled in front of James, the bespectacled man following him a few seconds later, joining their hands. Lily huffed and went to sit down next to them, on the couch. _This is ridiculous_ , she thought.

Sirius placed the tip of his wand to his friends joined hands.

"Remus, do you promise to not affiliate yourself with Voldemort?" James asked.

"I promise." Remus voice was clear and strong.

A thin stream of fire got out of Sirius's wand, weaving around James and Remus intertwined hands.

James swallowed. "Do you promise that, as long as Voldemort is after my family, you will never betray me, my family and Sirius?"

Remus frowned before answering. "I promise."

Another stream got out of the wand in Sirius's hand.

"Why did you word it this way?" Remus asked James, still frowning.

"What?"

"You said as long as Voldemort is after my family… Why not ask me to not betray you?"

"What do you mean?" James asked. Remus could see he was playing dumb.

"James." He firmly said. "Do you promise not to betray me, my family and Sirius… Why not say this?"

"Because someday you may get bored of us… You can betray a person a thousand ways Remus, even when you don't want to."

This made Remus frown again. "I don't…"

"Let it go, Moony." James sent him a small smile. "Come on Sirius."

Remus begrudgingly stood up while Sirius took his place.

"Sirius, do you promise to not affiliate yourself with Voldemort?" James asked

"I promise." The black haired boy nodded, watching as the thin fire stream weaved around their hands.

"Do you promise that, as long as Voldemort is after my family, you will never betray me, my family and Remus?"

"I promise."

Once the light coming from Remus's wand had extinguished, James stood up before helping Sirius.

"Thank you, the both of you." James told his friends while he made his way to sit next to his wife. Sirius and Remus sat on the opposite couch before nodding, each thinking of the implication behind James's wordings of the vows.

"There's a notebook containing all the wards that have been casted around the manor." Lily cut the slightly tense silence, taking James hand in hers.

"What's the verdict?" James asked, squeezing and caressing his wife's hand.

"I think that we can stay here for a few days…. If you want to make it permanent then we should look for other sort of wards and protection."

"Is the manor unplottable?" Remus asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable with Sirius's closeness.

"Yes but it's a simple spell, it can be dismantled quite quickly. I'm sure that Grimmauld has more complicated wards." Lily sighed, biting her lips. "There's a lot of wards already put in place, and we may need other books with other spells… _stronger_ spells… Sirius, maybe…" She trailed of, looking at her husband's best friend who seemed to understand what she wanted. He nodded.

"Dad died without changing his heir." He stated, deep in thought. "There may be some useful things in our family vaults at Gringott. I remember that there was a small library in it, I never really understood why though." He shrugged.

"Diagon Alley is too dangerous now, Sirius." Remus shook his head. "If you need books or potion supplies, I can go there, people think you don't trust me so…" He trailed off.

"It's still dangerous, even for you." Sirius rejected his idea quickly. "How would you get into the vault anyway?"

"I could just try at Flourish and Blotts." Remus said, shrugging.

"They won't have what we want." James cut in.

"Then Knockturn!" Remus suggested.

"Not alone." Sirius replied fiercely. "I'll go with you, I'll just disillusion myself or use polyjuice or something."

"Sirius is right." James said before his werewolf friend could interrupt him. "It's better to have back up. I could follow you with my cloak… once I get it back from Dumbledore." He finished, putting his face in his hands. "What an _idiot_ I am."

"Dumbledore?" Sirius frowned. "Why is it there?"

"He wanted to study it or something." James said shaking his head.

"While Voldy is hot on your tails." Sirius scoffed.

James nodded. "We need to talk with Dumbledore. _How could I be so stupid_?" He muttered the last part to himself.

Lily touched his back making him hiss. "You're hurt James!" She yelled at him, looking at the gashes on his back.

"That's nothing." He reassured her. "Just some scratches."

"Yes, well, you still need to be healed." She glared at him, taking out her wand, which she pointed at his back. " _Episkey_." She said, watching at the small gashes healed.

"Thanks."

Lily kissed his cheek, taking his left arms in hers, nuzzling into her husband's side.

"What…" Remus started before stopping. He looked back at James with a soft questioning look.

James understood, closing his eyes. He swallowed and opened them again, looking at the floor in front of him.

"We were talking when the alarms went off." James started while everyone stiffened. "I told Lily to take Harry and go… Then I remembered about the anti-portkey and anti-floo wards Dumbledore had put…" James sighed.

"He told me to come back and to find something to buy us some times." Lily whispered.

"Sorry about…" James shrugged, looking at Lily with a small tired smile. Lily smiled and nodded, kissing him softly. "My brilliant Lily managed to find a powerful shield charm…"

"… While my husband managed to do some incredible transfiguration." Lily finished. "He changed two lamps into us, he even managed to make them alive… well, moving." She smiled.

"Wow." Sirius laughed in disbelief while Remus's eyes had widened. "21 and you could give old Minnie a run for her money!"

"Don't call her like that." Remus glared at him, he hated when they talked badly about his favourite Hogwarts's professor.

James laughed at the normalcy of Remus's anger. "Anyway, as my lovely wife had said to me, I built a small army made of transfigured animals… which I should do again, Harry seemed to love it." He rambled off, thoughtful, while Lily rolled her eyes.

"That was supposed to buy us some times." She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Hey they did their job!" James said, offended.

"They got blown up with the door!"

"Not all of them." James shook his head. "Anyway, we got to the kitchen and got Miky to get us out."

"Harry and I first." Lily interjected, growing a bit whiter from just thinking of the few minutes without her husband.

"Nothing really happened there." James shrugged, omitting the part where Voldemort crucio'd him. That was something he would never tell his family.

"It was a good idea." Sirius pointed out. "I wouldn't have thought of it."

"It was either that or getting on a broom." Lily shrugged.

"Or dying." James added. "I would have died for you and Harry." James said, eyes fixed on his sleeping son.

"James…" Lily whispered.

"It's true Lils, and I would do it again and again, as long as I know that the both of you are alive and well."

Lily sighed, biting her lips softly.

"What do we do now?" Sirius interrupted her thoughts.

"I want my cloak back." James said. "We need to talk with Dumbledore and get all the information he has."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"It sometimes feel like he's not telling us everything." James shrugged, looking at his wife. "When he told us about the prophecy…"

"What prophecy?" Sirius stopped him quickly, frowning.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies." Lily quickly quoted the prophecy that haunted some of her sleepless night.

"That's the reason we went into hiding." James explained to his two surprised friends.

"The Longbottoms." Lily suddenly stood up. "We have to warn them, James!"

James quickly stood up after her and ran in the dining room to go to the floo.

"Why didn't you tell us about the prophecy?" Sirius asked Lily while James was away.

Lily sighed, turning toward her friends. "It's… James didn't want to burden you further." She explained, sitting back down.

"It's stupid." Sirius exclaimed while Remus nodded.

Lily looked at Harry who was still sleeping. "Maybe." She turned back toward their friends. "Now you know, let's put it in the past."

"That's…" Sirius started before Remus hit his arm softly, indicating that he should not go further. Sirius sighed but complied. "We'll talk about this again. I'm not dropping this."

Lily sighed but said nothing.

A few minutes later James joined them back in the living room. " _He_ didn't attack them but they're thinking of going to the Longbottom manor. Augusta's there. They'll ad a fidelius on it…. Maybe we should do that too."

Lily nodded.

"I'll be the secret keeper." Sirius said, standing up to join James. "I won't let you down this time."

James smiled and nodded, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Thank you."

Sirius smiled.

"We also need to figure out back up plans if Voldemort finds us again." James turned toward his wife and Remus.

"Back up plans?" Remus asked while Sirius came to sit back next to him, their legs brushing.

"We can't afford to think about a way out when he's just outside the door, it was risky." James said, looking back at Lily who nodded.

"But you got out." Sirius said.

"With Miky's help." James pointed out before sighing. "We need to see Dumbledore."

"Miky must have taken care of the house so the owls must still be there, let's send him one to tell him to meet us here tomorrow afternoon." Lily proposed.

James shook his head. "No, the only person who will ever step into this house will be the five of us. I already closed the floo."

"Then we'll go to Hogwarts." Sirius supplied.

Lily nodded and summoned a quill and a parchment. "Tell him that you three will meet him tomorrow afternoon at Hogwarts." She said, giving the writing supplies to her husband.

"The three of us? What about you and Harry?" He asked, confused.

"We'll stay here. I need to think up some back up plans." She smiled cheekily at him. "There's a lot of things we need to do and I don't want Harry out of here. It's not safe outside." She said more seriously.

James nodded. "Remus will stay with you." He said, before frowning when his wife laughed at him, shaking her head, making her beautiful auburn hair move.

"No, he will go with you two. He's not quick-tempered and he'll manage to calm or _stop_ you from killing Dumbledore."

"I can be calm too!" James exclaimed before starting to write his letter.

Lily only laughed.

"She's kind of right mate." Sirius said. "We're a bit too… passionate." He laughed while Remus snorted.

"That's an understatement." Remus shook his head, a soft smile on his lips.

James rolled his eyes before turning to Lily. "Why afternoon?" He asked, quill stilling on the parchment.

"It'll give us some time to think of questions to ask him." Lily answered him.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "That old goat, always hiding things and talking in riddles." He clenched his jaw. "I'm sure he's hiding something."

"Don't talk about him like that." Remus screeched while James closed the letter and called Miky.

Once the elf was there he handed him the letter. "Send this to Dumbledore please Miky, thank you."

Miky nodded before vanishing again.

"Dumbledore isn't our enemy but we need to figure out what he's hiding." Lily said.

"We won't let him meddle anymore." James icily replied, looking at Sirius in the eyes. His best friend nodded, face turning serious.

Silence settled upon them, each of the four friends deep in thought.

"It's quite late guys, maybe we should go sleep a bit." Remus proposed feeling the tension growing in the room.

Startled, Lily nodded, taking James's hand in hers before standing up. "You know where the guest rooms are right?"

When both their friends nodded, Lily took a still sleeping Harry in her arms. "Goodnight guys." She breathed before going upstairs.

James looked at his friends, his face blank. "Things will change, I won't let anyone harm my family."

"We won't let anyone harm the three of you either." Sirius said, making his way to James and taking him in his arms.

"Both of you are included in my family." James sent a soft smile to Remus above Sirius's shoulder.

"We know." Sirius said, stepping back and letting Remus take his place.

"Thank you." James said after he and Remus had parted. "Thank you for being here and… for what you have done for us." He breathed, taking Remus's hands in his.

"What do we do with Peter?" Sirius asked, finally bringing up the subject they hadn't wanted to delve into.

James took a breath, Remus squeezing his hand. "I'll kill him."

"You won't." Remus whispered, knowing full well that James would never be able to kill him, enemy or not.

"Then I will." Sirius said, determined.

James nodded, putting his other hand to Sirius's cheek. "I'll never forgive him." He breathed, eyes filled with angry tears.

"We know." Remus said. "We won't either…. I won't mind harming him if I see him… We'll make him pay." For the first time since he saw him stumble into his small house, Remus looked into Sirius's eyes. Sirius nodded.

"Let's go to sleep now." James sighed. "We'll talk more about this tomorrow." He added, walking out of the living room with his friends who nodded.

James and Remus started up the grand staircase, both of them thinking that they would not get any sleep that night.

"Can I talk with you, Remus?"

Remus stopped, looking back at Sirius. The Black heir was still in the living room's doorway, looking slightly uncertain.

James couched feeling uncomfortable. "Goodnight guys." He quickly ascended the stairs, leaving his two friends alone to try and resolve their problems.

"I'm sorry, Rem." Sirius started, pulling a hand through his hair.

"I know." Remus nodded, looking down.

"It's… I'm an idiot." Sirius whispered, taking a step toward Remus.

"It's war." The shorter man shrugged.

Sirius went to sit back down on the couch, taking his head in his hands. "You're mad at me."

Remus sighed before following him inside the room. "I am… but I understand. When it comes to James you only trust yourself." Remus pointed out, looking around at the Potter's living room. _It hadn't changed a bit_ , he sadly thought.

"Yes but you and I…"

"There hasn't been a you and I since quite a few months." Remus interrupted, looking at Sirius with a blank face.

"Another one of my mistakes." Sirius said, eyes weary. "I'll make it up to you. I'll do anything for you." He stood up quickly and went to Remus, taking his hands in his.

"Pretty words, Sirius." Remus said tiredly, taking his hands back.

A soft silence descended upon them, both of the young man at a loose for what to say.

"I'm sorry…" Sirius broke the silence again, his head down.

"I know." Remus breathed, looking at his former lover.

Sirius looked up, his grey eyes settling upon the vivid brown of Remus. "I love you." He murmured with finality.

"I know." Remus said, swallowing. "It's hard for me, it's…" Remus sighed, taking a deep breath. "Wait… just wait… Will you?"

Sirius nodded. "Yeah… I understand… I'll wait… However much." He said, a tiny bit of hope creeping up inside him.

Remus nodded, looking around, uncomfortable.

"Maybe we should go to sleep then." Sirius said, looking up at the staircase behind Remus.

The werewolf did not answer.

"Well good night Remus." Sirius softly said, making his way around Remus.

"Could you stay with me tonight?" Remus suddenly asked, making Sirius alt and turn around.

"Of course." Sirius said quickly, watching as Remus made his way to him, taking his hand in his before starting up the stairs.

"Just sleep." Remus added, blushing slightly. "I don't think I could stay alone tonight."

"Neither could I." Was Sirius simple answer.

* * *

 **EDIT:**

Dear Nanettez,

Your several points have been dully noted but I would like to make a few points of my own.

 **First of all, Sirius calling Dumbledore a goat** (which was a conscious decision on my part even if I also cringe every time I read it in other fanfictions) **was made to show Sirius's current resentment and disappointment toward Dumbledore**. Also when I say "goat" it's an insult, it's not about anyone's involvement with goats (I truly hope this was sarcastic on your part…). I reiterate, it was meant as an **insult**.

 **Dumbledore is not evil in _my_ story**. There are just two chapters of it so let's not jump to conclusion.

Secondly, Sirius and Remus were, indeed, not a couple in the book, but as you know, this is a **_fanfiction_** (we take the original story and twist it to our satisfaction or our imagination …). I don't write things in my story because I saw them somewhere else and I sure as hell didn't make Sirius and Remus together because I saw it in other countless stories. I wrote them this way because **they are one of my favourite couple** and I wanted them to be together in _my_ story. That's exactly (well not entirely) why my story is an **AU**. Now, if you don't like this couple, I have absolutely no idea why you chose to read my story. It's clearly stated that they're a couple (cf **_[Sirius B., Remus L.]_** ).

« The story would be more original if you did not follow other fan fiction stories. » :

I reiterate, there are only 2 chapters of my story so far… But if it can reassure you, I can assure you that I've never read any story dealing with what this story is dealing. Can't say more 'coz spoilers though.

Now, I thank you for pointing out that "the both of you" is incorrect. **I am not a native English speaker** (which is maybe something I should ad in my first chapter) so there will be tons of mistakes coming from me. **I will correct this, thank you.**

However, I don't understand why you brought Rowling into this…. I'm obviously not Rowling, I hope you did not doubt it... I also hope that I don't have to explain to you what a fan fiction is (again).

I also found quite offensive how you think that I "follow" other fanfictions. As I explained, I actually have never read the ideas I have for this stories in other fanfictions (if anybody realise that there's some plot thingy that match other stories, please mention them to me, I would love to read these stories!). Also, is there a problem in getting inspiration from other fanfictions? We get it from art, nature, movies, books, so why not other fanfiction? If we give the right credit, I don't see where the problem is.

 **Now, I would like to apologize to other readers for this long response as well as the sometimes sarcastic or acerbic ton I use**. I hope I did not deter anyone from writing reviews which point out my mistakes (grammatical or plot-wise… there's no restriction), **please, feel free to do so**. If I answered this way, it's because Nanettez's review has no real basis seeing as I haven't even revealed the real plot of this story. Also, some of her points are quite strange (her first point about Dumbledore mostly…). Maybe I should have answered privately but there are some things I want everyone to see (cf. what's in bold).

Also, there may be tons of mistakes in this answer because I'm too tired to bother trying to correct it.

Très sincèrement,

Me.

PS: I'm obviously not Rowling. My writing style is less than average and my plot are sometimes shaky. I am well aware. I just love writing.


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